Beech Tree News Network

I’ve been listening to my daughters discuss sorting through Christmas decorations to keep or to “move on down the road.” I decided to look into my Christmas decoration tubs with a downsizing mentality. I use most of my decorations, and I have thrown away some things. However, I also kept some items that I won’t use: memories were the deciding factor.

Wondering about others’ Christmas decoration collections, I asked friends and family: “My girls and I have been talking about all the tubs of Christmas decorations we have stored away. Do you use all of your Christmas decorations each year? If you don’t, what are your reasons?” Their responses are listed below:

-I use the majority of my decorations but have also scaled down what I have. I have one small box of keepsakes in my tubs that aren’t used that I won’t ever get rid of.

-After dealing with Mama and Dad’s house, I don’t buy anything I’m not going to use. I went through my Christmas decorations and gave away what I don’t use.

-I have eliminated most of mine. I decorate the tree, mantle, and table and set a few things around. It’s too hard to do more by myself, so I have a simple holiday décor. I gave the extra away or trashed it.

-I use them for a few years then usually get tired of that theme or color scheme and want a change. Also, they used to get ruined in my wet basement (it’s fixed now), so I would have to get new things every few years.

-Most definitely, we have tubs that we didn’t use! Why you ask ...my taste changes year to year. Plus, someone might need them in the future....

-I never use them all. Sometimes I want a new theme or color. Some are too sentimental, and I cry thinking about seeing them hanging.

-I use most of my decorations. I have a Christmas Village that some years I haven’t set up because of not having enough space, but I enjoy my decorations. I rarely buy new ones – I just use all the ones with lots of memories attached. I’m not a shopper, so I don’t have a lot of excess.

-I do, but I don’t have that many. Other than the tree and the outside lights, all of my Christmas decorations fit into one tub.

-No, I do not. The ones that endure from year to year are those that my mama passed to me and those that I connect to fond memories: decorations that mark my children’s moments and students’ gifts. The rest are fluff to remain in tubs until the estate sale.

-I have a lot of different things due to wanting a different look because I get tired of using and decorating with the same things. So, I have accumulated too many things.

-I don’t even use one-fourth of my Christmas decorations because I live in a much smaller house now. I should definitely get rid of some of them, but a lot of them have sentimental value.

-Never do! Some of my decorations are inherited ones that I only bring out occasionally, but mean too much sentimentally to get rid of. Others were gifts that I don’t always have room for but still want. I also have some that aren’t my style anymore, and that I absolutely need to sell or donate.

-Christmas decorations make me happy, so I tend to pick up new ones every year and rarely throw any away until they fade or break. This pattern, over the decades, created quite a large collection. In the past, the number of decorations didn’t seem excessive because I decorated almost every room of a five-bedroom home – and had ample storage space in the attic there. Since I now live in a much smaller space, it’s not possible to store it here, much less display it all, and I have to be careful not to make the space feel cluttered. I have gotten rid of several items this year but still don’t use even a fourth of the decorations I own right now.

We can still sort through our Christmas decorations – even as we store them away. The sorting and organizing of Christmas décor is just another task. More important things will be happening through the holidays. As someone once said, “It’s not what is under the tree that matters. It’s who is gathered around it.” I agree. People are much more important than decorations – or gifts.